PhD Program

IHUM confers a joint doctoral degree, with applications accepted in the third year of study from students enrolled in the Ph.D. programs in the following departments and schools: Anthropology, Architecture, Art and Archaeology, Classics, Comparative Literature, East Asian Studies, English, French and Italian, German, History, Music, Near Eastern Studies, Philosophy, Political Philosophy in Politics, Religion, Slavic Languages and Literatures, Sociology, and Spanish and Portuguese Languages and Literatures. (Owing to the schedule of field work, students in Anthropology may choose to apply either in their second or third year, but may apply only once.) Students who join the program become core members of a community of interdisciplinary research and exchange that convenes for seminars, workshops, and other events. They receive an additional year of fellowship support for research and exploration in areas beyond the boundaries of their fundamental disciplinary training, and graduate with a joint degree from their home department and from the Council of the Humanities.

Who should apply?

The classes, workshops, and other events sponsored by IHUM are open to anyone with wide interests and an experimental temperament. The degree program seeks to identify students whose intellectual ambitions for the dissertation will benefit from substantial study and experience of another field, within or beyond the humanities. We particularly value applications that demonstrate an ambition to communicate powerful ideas to a diverse audience in innovative ways.

What are the requirements?

Applicants to the program are recommended to take an IHUM program seminar in their first two years of coursework, and should at all events be able to show a record of interdisciplinary exploration. Students accepted into the program are expected to join in IHUM workshops (including a regular works in progress meeting for program members and faculty) and other events, as participants and organizers. In most cases IHUM will help students to find a mentor qualified to guide the exploration of their interdisciplinary interests (though the departmental advisor or advisors retain primary responsibility for directing the dissertation). Students are required to present a detailed plan for their IHUM fellowship year to the director of the program before it begins, ordinarily in the spring of the third year. They must fulfill all the requirements for the degree in their home departments.

How do I apply?

The next round of applications will be due on March 1, 2019. They are accepted from students in the third year of graduate study. They include a description of plans for dissertation research and a brief letter of support from a departmental advisor. More details here.